New Beginnings
by StudentofDust
Summary: Emma's the newest girl at Hogwarts, and she's convinced she'll never make any friends. But, that's before she has an unexpected run in with a girl that everyone calls Loony.


The car slowly trundled up to the parking lot, slowing down to let another car pass. It turned sharply into the lot, and zoomed down the aisles until they finally found a spot to park.

Getting out of the car were a middle-aged woman, and her daughter, who looked to be about eleven. The daughter went around the car, as the mom popped the trunk so she could help her daughter get her luggage out of the trunk.

"What if I can't make any friends there, mom?" she asked, looking more than a bit scared.

Her mom sighed; she'd already gone over this with her multiple times. "Emma, honey, I told you- there's no way you won't make any friends at Hogwarts." She lowered the trunk door, as Emma got her last item out. "Did you know I felt the same way, when I first came to Hogwarts?"

Emma looked up at her mom in surprise. "Really?"

Her mom laughed. "Sure, I did," she said as they started walking towards King's Cross Stattion. "I was the most unpopular kid in my school, before my parents took me out to go to Hogwarts."

"Mom, I don't think you were the most unpopular kid in your school…"

Her mom looked at her. "Of course, I wasn't, sweetie, but that's how I always felt. I never talked to anyone, I always ate my lunch alone- in fact, I had my own little spot, that no one else sat in, because they knew that Lonely Linda always sat there. No one bothered me, and that's how I liked it."

"So, then," said Emma, "how'd you and Dad get to know each other?"

"That's a long story," said her mom, laughing. "But, I guess we have a bit of time."

"I wanna hear it!" Emma said, bouncing up and down as she walked forward.

Her mom laughed; she hadn't seen her this eager to hear one of her stories in… well, ever. "Alright, I'll tell you, but only when we get inside." Her mom opened the door and waited for Emma to step inside before she let the door shut behind them.

Once she turned around, she saw the look of wide-eyed wonder that had crossed Emma's face, and she herself couldn't help but smile. She had had the same look of excitement on her face, the first time she'd been to King's Cross. It had been so big, so… amazing to her, and she could tell just by looking at her, that Emma was feeling the same thing she had, so many years ago.

She grabbed Emma's hand, and she seemed to slowly snap out of it. Leading her along, she walked towards the bench that was nearest to Platform 9 and 3/4, and there they sat.

This whole experience reminded her so much of her first time waiting for the Hogwarts Express- the wonder of seeing the Station for the first time, the excitement of going to a new and unknown school, even the fact that she and her mom had sat on this very bench when _they_ were headed to Hogwarts.

Emma looked up at her mom. "So…are you going to tell me?"

Her mom snapped out of it and laughed; that was another thing about Emma that reminded her so much of herself, when she was Emma's age- she knew what she want, and she wouldn't stop until she got it.

"Alright, Emma," she said, "if you really want to know…"

Emma nodded her head vigorously, and Linda laughed again. "Alright, here goes. I think people could tell that I didn't think very highly of myself, 'cause during my first four years here at Hogwarts, I didn't really have too many friends. There was one guy who had talked to me once, during my third year, and just because of that, I got a major crush on him. His name was Daniel Rogers, and he was the most popular kid in his year. He only said 'hey' to me, but that was all it took- that one word- for me to fall for him.

"Despite all that, though, we never really got to know each other, the main reason being I was in Ravenclaw, and he was in Hufflepuff. Because of that simple fact, we never had any classes together, never had Quidditch practice together-"

"Mom!" interrupted Emma. "You never told me you played Quidditch!"

"Yep, I played for the Ravenclaw House team, starting my second year until the end of my fourth year. Anyways, we never really had that much opportunity to talk to each other. We'd see each other occasionally, on the way to classes, or passing by each other during Hogsmeade visits, but… not once did we ever get into an actual conversation.

"Well, anyways, it wasn't until my fifth year that we got to talking. We happened to be standing next to each other while watching a Quidditch match, when one of the Gryffindor players veered out of control and into the stands. He would have hit Daniel, if I hadn't have shoved him out of the way just in time.

"He ended up crashing into me, instead, and the collision broke my arm. Next thing I knew, I was in the hospital wing. Later on, though, he came to see me. 'Thanks," he said to me. 'I don't even want to think what would have happened if he'd crashed into me.' He smiled, and left, but my heart was overflowing- he actually talked to me!

"Well, after we got out of school, I asked him to marry me, he said yes, and… that's about it."

Emma laughed. "Great story, mom!" She looked ahead. "They're starting to get on, mom."

Linda looked at her watch; it read 10:40. "Alright, then, let's get you onto the platform. We can talk a bit more there, before you have to go." The two headed towards the pillar that separated platforms 9 and 10; they leaned up against it casually, just like they'd planned; then, they leaned backwards and fell through, landing on the other side- Platform 9 and 3/4.

"Wow, mom!" Emma said. "That train's huge!"

"Sure is, sweetie. That can hold all the Hogwarts students, plus all the teachers and the train staff, and still have room for more."

"Wow…" Emma said, looking around. Just then, they heard a voice off to the side. "Boarding begins now; train departs in fifteen minutes."

Linda turned and looked at Emma. "Do you want to get on now, so you can get a good seat?"

Emma thought for a second. "Sure!" Her mom gave her one last hug and kiss, then watched as Emma boarded the train. With one last wave, Emma disappeared; letting a tear fall down her face, Linda slowly turned and walked away.

-----

Emma walked along the train's pathway, marveling at just how big it really was. None of the other students had gotten on yet, so it was almost deathly quiet- just like Emma liked it. She made her way to the very back of the train, to the very last compartment, and sat down there.

She lay her head back against the wall, and began to think. _Am I going to make any friends here? There must be somebody who'd want to be my friend. Like that… oh, what's his name again? Harry! Harry Potter. I wonder if he'd want to be my friend. But, he's probably got a lot on his plate the way it is, everyone saying he's the Chosen One and everything… If I make just _one_ friend this year, I'll be happy…_

She was so lost in thought, she didn't see that another girl had entered the compartment. The girl simply sat down; Emma had her eyes closed, so the visitor thought she was asleep and didn't want to wake her.

Finally, Emma opened her eyes, and saw the girl who had come in. She jumped back a bit, having not even noticed her come in.

She looked over at Emma. "Oh, so you're awake."

Emma looked a bit confused. "Yes," she said. "Erm, if you don't mind me asking… who are you?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the girl said, shaking her head. "I didn't even introduce myself. How rude. My name is Luna. Luna Lovegood." She extended her hand, and Emma took it, though cautiously.

"Will this be your first year at Hogwarts?" Luna asked, eyeing Emma a bit oddly.

"Yes, it will," replied Emma. "What about you?"

"Oh, this will be my fifth year," responded Luna. "Do you know what House you're going to be in?"

"Well, my mom said she was in Ravenclaw, so I hope I'm in Ravenclaw, too."

Luna simply smiled. "I'm in Ravenclaw, myself. It's a wonderful House, it really is. If you get in it, I think you'll quite enjoy it." Having said that, she pulled out a magazine and turned it upside down. Emma had thought there was something weird about her, but now this confirmed it. She squinted to try and read the upside-down print, to find out what magazine she was reading.

"Can I help you?" she heard Luna ask, and her eyes bolted up to her face, which looked a bit perplexed.

Emma's face flushed. "Erm, I-I'm sorry, I-"

"Did you see a wrackspurt?"

Emma stopped cold. "A what, now?"

"A Wrackspurt," Luna replied. "Surely you've heard of them."

Emma muttered something that sounded vaguely like, "No."

"Oh, they're fascinating creatures. You really should read more about them." With that, Luna went back to reading her upside-down magazine.

Emma took one more look at the magazine and realized that the title of it was _The Quibbler. _"Weird name for a newspaper," she muttered to herself. Then, she lay back and went to sleep.

It seemed like only a few minutes before there was an announcement saying, "We have now arrived at Hogwarts. Please exit the train, in an orderly fashion."

Slowly, Emma came back to her senses. By the time she'd opened her eyes, Luna had already left the compartment. Getting up, she made her way to the front of the train, and got off.

-----

Emma immediately lost herself in the crowds of people. She heard a loud cry of "Firs' years! Firs' years, over 'ere!" She craned her neck to see a giant man by the lake, ushering what appeared to be her fellow first-years into boats. She slowly made her way through the crowd, and when she got to the lakeside, she climbed into one of the boats.

After all the first-years had gotten into the boats, they suddenly launched themselves along the river, gliding smoothly. Soon, Emma got used to the boat's rocking motion, and she sat back a bit, enjoying herself for what was the first time in quite awhile.

Soon (too soon, for Emma), the boats hit the other side, and they began to file out. Once all the students were out, the giant man led them up to what appeared to be a medieval castle. When they got there, the man knocked on the door, and it opened. Standing there was a petite woman, looking quite comical next to the giant man she was standing slightly beside.

"The first' years, Professor McGonagall," Emma heard him say.

"Thank you, Hagrid," she replied, motioning for the children to follow them. One by one, they did, into the giant castle.

Soon, they'd made it to another giant set of doors. Here, Professor McGonagall turned and spoke to them.

"Welcome, our new group of first-year students. My name is Professor McGonagall, and this is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When you walk through these doors, into the Great Hall, you will find yourself amongst who will be your fellow classmates. Once you are sorted into your respective Houses, you will sit at your tables, and then the feast will begin."

With that, she opened the door, and the students stepped into the Great Hall, ready for the Sorting. Soon, it began, with "Avery, Stephanie" being the first.

"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted out, as Stephanie made her way to the Gryffindor table, amidst their cheering and hollering.

_So this is how you get Sorted,_ Emma thought to herself. _This, I wasn't expecting._

One by one, the line shortened, til Professor McGonagall called out, "Rogers, Emma."

Slowly, Emma made her way to the stool where the Hat was perched. She lifted the hat up, and placed it on her head. It simply sat there for a second, then it yelled, "Ravenclaw!"

Emma jumped for joy, as she replaced the hat on the stool, and ran over to the Ravenclaw table, where everyone was cheering for her. She sat down, feeling better than she'd ever felt before. Soon, the Sorting was over, and the feast began.

-----

It took Emma a days to really get settled in, but soon she found herself going with the flow. She liked it at Hogwarts, and no one really seemed to take a disliking to her- at least, no one showed it.

One day at breakfast, some of the other girls were talking about Loony Lovegood. She listened in, to find out who they were talking about.

"She's probably the weirdest girl in the whole school," said one girl.

"Nobody really wants to be her friend," said the boy beside her.

"Oh come on, guys," said Emma from down the table. "She isn't really _that_ bad…" Immediately, all heads turned towards her.

"You _do_ know who we're talking about, right?" asked one girl.

"Luna, yeah. I met her on the train. She didn't seem too bad to me."

"That's cause you haven't gotten to know her yet," said another girl.

"Where's she at?" asked Emma, looking around. "She said she was in Ravenclaw, too."

One of the girls laughed. "Probably knew no one wanted to talk to her, much less sit by her." The other Ravenclaws started to laugh.

"Come on guys-" she started to say, but their laughter was too loud for them to hear anything, so she just ate in silence.

Later on that day, between classes, she made her way to the library, to get a book for one of her classes. Walking down the rows, she was lost in thought again, when she ran into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!' she said, bending down to pick up the girl's books. She handed them to her.

"Oh, it's you, Luna.

Luna smiled. "Yes, it's me. You were the one who sat with me on the train ride here."

"Erm, yes," said Emma. "Here." She handed Luna her books.

"I didn't see you at breakfast this morning," Emma said, trying to somehow make conversation.

"Yes, well, I was trying to find books here in the library about Nargles. You see, no one believes that they exist- no one besides me, anyways. So I've been trying to find definitive proof, proof that they exist."

"Did you find anything?" asked Emma, a bit interested.

"No, nothing yet," replied Luna, "but these aren't all the books in the world, you know, so there's probably something out there, written about them." She looked at her watch. "Oh, dear. I really do need to go to class."

Emma moved to the side to let her through. "It was nice talking to you," Luna said with a smile. She turned and left Emma standing there.

Emma's next class was Potions, which was taught by a rotund man named Professor Slughorn. Their assignment for that class period was to do their best attempt at a sleeping potion; after Slughorn explained how to do it and where to find the necessary ingredients, he left them to their own devices.

Emma soon found that she was quite adept at making potions, or at least this one in particular, and she was finished in about ten minutes. The girl beside her was also finished, and was talking about Luna with some of her friends.

"I'm a bit scared of her, to be honest," the girl beside her was saying.

"Why doesn't anyone like Luna?" Emma asked.

The girl turned to face her. "She's just… weird, I guess."

"And is being weird that bad?"

The girl flushed a bit. "Well… she's weirder than anyone else at the school. Have you heard her talk about Narkles, or whatever the heck they are?"

"Nargles, and yes I have. I find her ideas… a bit out there, but nothing bad."

The other girl smirked. "You just haven't been around her enough. You'll see." With that, she turned around and shut Emma out of the conversation.

-----

It was a few days later, before Emma finally got the chance to do the thing she'd been wanting to do the most- learn how to fly a broom. It was a perfectly clear day outside, and Emma felt as though she could take it on the first try.

Finally, Madam Hooch came down and explained everything to them.

"Now," she said, "say, 'up!'"

"Up!" came the cries of everyone out there, including Emma. Emma's broom came jumping up into her hand, which surprised her; she looked around to find that quite a number of other people's brooms had done the same thing. There were, however, about an equal no. of brooms that were still lying on the ground; some hadn't moved at all.

"Well, for those of you who are ready," said Miss Hooch, "we'll begin with basic mounting instructions, then we'll see how many of you can-"

She didn't finish her sentence, though, seeing as one little girl had already mounted her broom; before Miss Hooch could say anything, she shot forward, all the way to the other side of the pitch, where she crashed into the wall.

Miss Hooch hurried over and inspected her for a second, before mounting the girl on her own broom and flying over to the other side, where the students were standing.

"Nothing much," Miss Hooch said, stopping briefly. "Looks like just a sprained wrist, but I'm going to have to get her to the hospital ward all the same. I'm warning you, though: _NO FLYING_. Or else!" She took off, in the direction of the castle.

Everyone was a bit sad, as they couldn't fly until Madam Hooch came back. Emma had just leaned against the wall when she heard a familiar voice say, "Please don't."

Emma turned to see a bag of books floating in the air, and Luna standing below them. "Please give them back to me," she was saying. "I have a Transfiguration exam next, and my book is in there."

The kids who were doing it laughed, and Emma's anger began to boil. _Why are they doing that to her?_

"Stop!' Emma yelled. "Stop doing that to her! Can't you see she doesn't like it?"

The kids laughed. "Oh, look Luna. Someone's finally sticking up for you. Where are your other so-called 'friends'? Or do they just pretend to be your friends, just 'cause they pity you?"

Emma snapped, and mounted her broom.

"What are you doing?" asked the girl beside her; she sounded scared out of her wits.

"Helping a friend," was all that Emma said. She kicked off, and sped upwards towards the bleachers.

"Holy crap!" one of them said, and all looked down.

"How the heck does she know how to fly that well?" asked another.

"Do it, now!" a boy yelled, and the oldest girl released the spell, causing the books to fall out of the bag and towards Luna's head.

A spell came to Emma's mind, and she drew her wand. "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" she yelled, and the books came to a stop just a few inches above Luna's head.

Emma dismounted when she came to the top of the wall. She pointed her wand at each of Luna's tormentors.

"Let's get out of here," one of them said. "We don't need to waste our time with stupid first-years…" The bullies left, leaving Emma alone with Luna, atop the bleachers.

" Thank you," said Luna, picking her books up off the ground.

Emma realized she was blushing furiously. "Not a problem." She then realized that everyone was cheering for her, down below. Her face grew hotter, and she could tell that she was blushing furiously.

Trying to break the tension, Emma asked, "Why were they picking on you, Luna?"

"I'm not very popular around here," Luna replied. "People think I'm crazy, for always talking about Nargles and Wrackspurts. I'm too different, from everyone else."

"Luna… being different isn't a bad thing."

Luna looked up at her. "I know…" With that, she picked up her bookbag and, putting her books in it, she walked away towards the stairs.

Emma just stood there for a second, no longer wondering why no one liked her, why everyone was always calling her Loony Luna Lovegood. But oddly enough, she didn't care. In fact, she found herself thinking that she had just found the one thing she was convinced she'd never find- finally, she'd found a friend.


End file.
